Partial eclipse Sunday morning mostly affects Eastern Seaboard

On Sunday morning November 3rd, early risers in much of eastern North America can witness a dramatic celestial spectacle, weather permitting. The Sun will rise while it’s in the midst of a partial eclipse.The eclipse will be total only along a narrow path crossing the Atlantic Ocean and equatorial Africa (and it’s annular for the first tiny bit on the Atlantic). A much larger part of the world will see a partial eclipse — including most of Africa, the Middle East, southernmost Europe, northern South America, and the Caribbean.From the eastern U.S. and Canada, the viewing will be tricky but potentially spectacular. You’ll need an open view of the eastern horizon, and the farther east you are the better. For viewers near the East Coast, the Sun will rise with a big bite missing from its bottom, as shown below. This is the silhouette of the new Moon just as the Moon is beginning its new monthly traverse around the sky. The illustration shows the scene just after sunrise for selected cities.

Weather permitting, early risers near the Eastern Seaboard can see a partial solar eclipse in progress at sunrise on November 3, 2013. The percents tell how much of the Sun’s area is covered by the Moon’s silhouette just after sunrise.

Sky & Telescope illustration / source: Stellarium

As the Moon moves along its orbit, the bite will diminish and then disappear (in well under an hour), while the Sun climbs higher.Seen from farther inland, the Sun will rise with only a small nick that lasts for a short time. The western limit of the event’s visibility runs through southern Ontario, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle — and that’s only if you have a very flat horizon. (The statement in the November Sky & Telescope said that even the East Coast will just see a small nick was mistaken; that only applies farther inland or if you don’t have a low eastern horizon.)